Dwayne Jenkings 4.01 | 19:03

After our brutal rinsings of Headman, Chicken Lips and Lindstrom's recent output, I thought that it might be best to focus on releases that actually brought a smile (or would that be gurn?) to our ugly mugs at Tape HQ. First up comes a track from an overlooked LP of last year.

The chances are that if you've been out to a few clubs last year, you'll have heard ' 'Knartz IV'. Originally released on , it's popularity outgrew the label and Virgin ended up swooping in to suck the profits dry from it. I found it very strange when the LP, entitled 'Hot Wire My Heart', slipped out without any press attention at all.

I'm sure they're thanking Virgin for giving them that push...

yeah, right! As far as the LP goes, it's not as consistently excellent as say, or , but some of the individual tracks really do stand out.



'I'm In The Army Now' starts with a pretty typical throb'n'pulse sound combo, but just what is that ultra-distorted sound that enters about 58 seconds in?

I have no idea, but what I do know is that it sounds FAT! It just keeps building and building until an acoustic guitar bursts onto the scene. Affected staccato strums join the party and what do you know?

A good vocal as well! A highly depressed young man sings about how he's in the army now, and it's all his own bloody fault. Ah.

.. if only all moaning sounded this good!



Download:


Now let us take a journey further into the past. Not too far mind! Back in 2004, DB (Bertrand Lacombe to his mother) released the 'Future Now' on the eponymous Futurenow label.

I've got no idea why he named the track after the label. Answers on a postcard to the usual address please..

. Anyway, Silver City boss Tim Paris was asked to remix it, and what a job he did! He turns the original into a jacking electro-houser with a down and dirty bassline and a breakdown to end all breakdowns!

It was re-remixed (if that makes any sense) by Tim and boss Ralph Lawson for a 20/20 , but here's Tim's original version that caused such a stir at the time. I remember playing this as my last tune at our last Elbow Room gig, and just watching people's reaction as they wait and wait and wait for the accelerating arpeggio to break back into the beat..

. Believe me, when it does finally drop, their hands'll be in the air and they'll be dancing round like maniacs. Or was that just me?



Download:


Thanks again to Philip Sherburne for giving us props on his . His writing for
's 'Critical Beats' puts pretty much every dance music journalist to shame, and you should also check out some of his writings for (click to see his top 10 techno LPs of 2005) and .
Another quick reminder for you all: the mixes are still available for download, so go to check out the tracklistings and the links (I promise I'll get round to writing properly about the rest very soon).

Check back later today for more audio gubbins, including my favourite track of last year.

Showing the DFA how to treat Britney.

..

Let's face it, the DFA/Britney collaboration was rubbish.

Lacklustre production, nothing going on, and a crap vocal by Britters herself. It was a demo, but come on ! You know we have high standards by now!

boss did a much better job when he remixed 'Breathe On Me', a track that was muted for release but then never came out. How? First, take that damn vocal out!

All that now remains of Britney's voice is her trying to breathe sexily. Note that I say 'try', but it's not about the vocal (or whatever's left of it). Holden's gives the song a distinct broken 2-step feel before the minimal acid throb launches it into the stratosphere.

Britney's K-fuelled anthem? It's just not right, is it?

Download:


After that techno tunnel of darkness, I think it's time to put a bit of warmth into our lives. is, in my humble opinion, one of life's great freak imprints.

Where else would you get fantastic techno interpretations of already great electro-pop? Both the original and Geiger mixes of Heiko Voss' 'I Think About You' are great, but it's German wunderproducer DJ Koze's mix that I've put up to highlight the simply gorgeous soundclash that the Kompakt Pop remixes deliver us. That is when they're good of course, but if you really need proof, check out Superpitcher's mix of The MFA's 'The Difference It Makes' (which features on part 2 of my ).


It's been the first day in a while where Mr Soft hasn't posted, so I better make up for his slackness. If you haven't already, check out Tim Sweeney's 2005 roundup show on . As you'd expect, it's a quality selection including gems by Quiet Village, Isolee, The Juan Maclean, Padded Cell, Carl Craig, Lindstrom, and Francisco, amongst many others.

I'd love to get Tim to play at Native, but it's finding a time where he's going to be in the country. Hopefully later this year..

..


Anyway, here's a few more aural nuggets for you. First up we have Canadian techno wunderkind Mathew Jonson with his latest release on . When I skipped through '7.

19 FM David' in the shop it didn't grab me at all and I thought that he'd gone downhill after the stupendous 'Return Of The Zombie Bikers', but I was glad to be proved wrong when I heard it loud and in full at Cosies. Swirling, evil synths and effects, and an elasticated bassline to bungee your brain. Wagon Repair have been releasing consistently good releases of late (Konrad Black, Loose Change) and I hope for their sakes that this isn't just a phase!






It's official - Maurice Fulton (pictured) is the fucking man. You shouldn't need me to tell you this, and probably don't; but it doesn't hurt to be reminded of something so emphatically true. Though the wonkiness-factor of his work is often pretty demanding on the listener, the man's ongoing quest to make the most fucked-up dance music possible is admirable to say the least.

..Mixing up elements of techno, disco, jazz, hip hop, house and punk-funk (and plenty else), Fulton has forged some of the most unnerving, insidiously funky soundscapes known to man or beast.

Probably best known for his killer production on Mu's fantastic art-house rekkids, his career has been fruitful and varied, and though there's no shortage of stinkers in his back catalogue, the triumphs are too many to mention...

A particular highlight for me, along with Mu's spunkin' 'Paris Hilton' and 'Chair Girl', is the linear, proto-dubstep of 'Wet Sticky' that Fulton put out on Transfusion Records a coupla years ago...

These days he's popping singles on the up-and-coming label, under his Syclops alias. Tirk's limited output so far has been exceptional - including not just Fulton's stuff, but all manner of discofied booty from Fujiya Myagi, Sugardaddy, Idjut Boys and New Young Pony Club, as well as Greg Wilson's peerless 'Credit to the Edit' compilation. Definitely a label to watch.

..This, Syclops' second single for them, is a really schizophrenic excursion for the Sheffield-based American - wherein screechy, scratchy, syncopated gutterfunk warps magically into a Rhodes-draped, melancholic coda that'll make space you out fo' sure.

"Like the DFA, Lindstrom and Fourtet playing to their best, all at once, together" is how the website slaveringly describes it. Seriously, it's not as good as that - but it ain't far off. --Mr Soft

I think that'll do for today, but just a quick reminder about our next event:
Come down early to see me and Puffin Jack raising the temperature before Tolfrey mans the decks to give you a techno workout good enough to wobble Fabric's Room 1.

.. See you down there!


So the Elbow Room era comes to a close..

. We had some great nights there and it was always enjoyable to play, but during the past 4 or 5 months the behaviour of the doormen has just spiralled downhill. Typical duo that you'll get across the world.

You've seen them. The big, fat, quiet one that just stands there grunting, and the little one that thinks that he's a bigshot hard man because his ogre of a friend's standing behind him. We've all heard of 'short man syndrome' before, and this man is the epitome of the phrase.

He is, in short, a cunt. Jeanette, on the other hand, is a spiteful, evil bitch. I must admit that I sometimes take pleasure from the misfortune of others, but this woman takes it to a totally different level.

I really do hope her and the Turk get together and create a little satan-child that drives them crazy. I echo Softie's thoughts regarding Jim; he's treated us with respect and supported what we set out to do, but I can't help but feel a little annoyed that he didn't stick his oar in a bit more to keep us there. Or even give us a bit of bloody notice!

There are some more Tape events planned for the near future (see below), and we hope to get a venue in place to host Matt Waites. Anyway..

. less of the bitching, more of the tuneage. The first track that I present to you is by German producer .

Der Muckenschwarm is an electro/techno monster with a fat rolling bassline and sharp crisp production. Also..

. that melody! A dancefloor monster that probably would've come out at the Tape that will never be.

...





Here's a tune from a record that really does take me back to the early Tape days, the b-side to Elan. I remember every time Mr. Soft played me the A-side I'd go "what's this?

" to which he'd reply "you know...

just listen." Then the main melody would hit and I'd know exactly what it was. Sounded great at the time, and still does now.


The b-side's a bit more floaty but still keeps that irresistable Kohncke throb. Not really one for the dancefloor, although it has had an airing early at Tape courtesy of yours truely. In a word.

.. lush.


Here's a little nugget from last year by a six piece disco-funk band called . They impressed Beck so much that he's taking them out on his European tour this year. Not that I'm a particular fan of Beck, but this song has it all.

The cheek, the swagger, the bravado, and funk! Check that cheesy synth solo - so wrong but so right!



.

..and now for something completely different!

To prove we're not all about the dancefloor here's a bit of electronic noise rock for your ears. come out of Sheffield, and this is from their first album. Often going on gigantic 40 date UK tours, these boys aren't shy of live material as they proved when I saw them at the Croft last year, packing in a good 90 minute set with only 2 albums to their name.

Listen as the walls of noise build and build until the simply heavenly crescendo kicks in. Just fantastic music that few bands are trying to create at the moment. In other news (and finally making sense of the caption), Tape will be doing a special night with the You Don't Play boys at Cosies sometime in the near future.

It's Puffin's favourite venue in Bristol, and damn it's good. It's true! You're guaranteed to have a good night at Cosies.

Even if some pissed up 50 year old with vomit and whiskey on his breath is breathing his stench all over you while reciting Hamlet. It happened..

. it happened. You should've seen his dancing!


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Keywords: Elbow Room, Mr Soft, Army Now
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